EcoBuilding Bargains is hosting its annual public barbeque to celebrate spring and reusing and upcycling materials next Saturday, May 20 from 12:00-2:30pm! This free event will feature a multitude of family fun activities, such as composting and reuse workshops, along with live upcycling and composting demonstrations and crafts for kids. Participants can also enjoy free food from the Holyoke Hummus Company while listening to music provided by local DJ Kevin Legends.

Join us in learning from salvage craftsman, Palo Coleman who is returning for a second time to the EcoBuilding Barbeque for a live demonstration of the Japanese charred wood technique of coloring, finishing and preserving siding. Coleman is a talented salvage craftsman based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who specializes in turning reclaimed materials, such as trees, industrial machinery and old furniture, into useable, aesthetically pleasing items. Coleman will be joined by Joe Rosatti, an experienced local upcycler and frequent customer at EcoBuilding Bargains. Rosatti will demonstrate how to upcycle an old bureau into a new piece of furniture.

Come meet our red wiggler worms! CET’s outreach specialist, Ed Rutledge, will give vermicomposting demonstrations throughout the day. He will show how to create a simple compost bin and explain how the worms help turn food waste into productive, finished compost. This event will also have family-friendly projects at the kid crafts table. Attendees can learn how to transform tiles into coasters and decorate bricks to display in the garden.

By Aliza Heeren, High Performance Building Fellow, and Lexie Vining, Outreach and Education Fellow

American families throw out approximately 20% of the food and beverages they buy, which equates to about $1,800 in wasted food annually. Imagine what you could do with all that extra cash! Here are some tips for how you can use various food items that are past their prime:

Tea Bags

Tea bags are often thought of as a one time thing, but did you know you can make multiple cups of tea with one bag? Try saving your bag for a second cup later, or share a tea bag with a friend! After you’ve finished with it, here are some other useful ways tea bags can be used before they hit the compost bin:

As Americans, we buy about 3 billion loaves of bread per year and 25% of that ends up being wasted. That comes out to about 750 million loaves of bread wasted each year! Instead of throwing away stale bread, you can…

Use it in recipes such as bruschetta or stuffing.

Freeze the sliced loaf and defrost the bread as needed so that it doesn’t go stale.

Make breadcrumbs or croutons.

Use it to keep veggies fresh! By putting a slice of bread in the crisper drawer in your refrigerator, it will help absorb moisture and keep vegetables fresh.

The holidays have come and gone, and with 25-30 million fresh-cut Christmas trees being purchased in the United States every year, there are soon to be a lot of spruces and firs that need to be disposed of. We’ve got some helpful hints about ways you can put your tannenbaum to good use once you’ve taken the lights and decorations off.

Create an animal shelter.

If you don’t have your own pond, your tree makes a great shelter for land animals as well! You can also coat some branches in peanut butter or margarine to give animals a little snack along with their shelter. Squirrels, birds, rabbits and others will all appreciate a safe, warm place to ride out the winter!

Follow this guide to throw a fun and sustainable New Year’s party while also saving money and reducing waste!

Invitations: Be sustainable from the start by sending your guests paperless invitations! You can easily create a Facebook event or design an electronic invitation that you can email, but will looks just as fancy as a paper one.

Decorating: When setting up your festive space, decorate sustainably by having soy or beeswax candles, strings of LED lights hung around the room, festive flowers or plants, and an organic edible fruit basket centerpiece! You can also make your own confetti out of old magazines and newspapers to throw when the clock strikes 12.